Climbing The Stairs
by Loopylou
Summary: My take on 2.2: Valley of Darkness, the apartment scene. Contains spoilers. Quite angsty. Kara finds things she thought she's lost and Helo tags along for the ride.


A/N This is my first BGS fic and I wrote this without watching the second series. Please excuse any mistakes. I know what happens here is diffrent to what happens on the show- this is my idea about what I'd like to see. As usual, none of the characters in this fic are mine and no money is being made.

Climbing The Stairs

Climbing the stairs to her old apartment was the easy part, she thought. The plain cream walls- now cracked and covered in dirty marks- held few memories for her. The cold black metal handrail was as cold as ever under her hand. That surprised her- as if everything the planet had been through should have changed the basic facts of the place. Helo trailed silently behind her, watching her. She stopped automatically when she reached the door, searching her pockets for keys that she didn't have and wouldn't need again. The abnormality took a second or two to register in her mind. There were bloody handprints on her door.

For a second she stared at them, her mind trying to figure out which of her neighbours they had come from. After a few seconds she realizes that it doesn't matter, because they're all dead anyway. The thought has been hovering around the edge of her mind since the first attacks, but seeing the proof finally lets her grieve. A single sob escapes her before she clamps down on her emotions. Pulling her gun, she aims and fires once at the lock. True to form, she hits is perfectly but doesn't take the time to feel the achievement. Instead, she just pushes the door open and edges in, gun held ready in front of her.

The room is empty and she breathes a sigh of relief to see that things are basically as she left them, though a crack in the window has let in the dirty rain. She avoids the murky puddle as she steps into the hall. It feels strange, being home again in such an upsetting time. They were at war, and she was standing in her living room worrying because her carpet was ruined. The answer phone still sits on the small table by the door. Her mother's table, though she refuses to call it that. Helo watches her silently as she opens the answer phone and slips the disk into her pocket. She wonders if anyone called her in those last few moments before the world ended.

For the first time since entering the building, she speaks "Make yourself at home." Her voice is horse and flat.

Helo sits on the arm of a chair, leaning towards her. "You okay?"

She aims for a smile and know she's failing, "Sure."

"You're not." He's good at stating the obvious.

She shrugs, her back turned to him.

By the time he says "Kara…." she's already walking away from him, towards the bedroom. The military issue jacket falls to the floor as she carelessly slips it off. In the light streaming down the hallway, he can see every mark on her bare arms and winces at the sight. She steps out of sight and he busies himself by looking through her music collection. It's as varied as he expects from her, but the dicks that catch his attention arn''nt the commercial ones. Three blank cases, with three blank disks inside. He is about to take one out when he realises that she's standing right behind him. He turns a little too sharply and the disks fall through suddenly numb fingers. She manages to catch two of them before the hit the floor and the other lands harmlessly on the carpet. He notices that she has changed into a different jacket, this one worn and battered leather. She slides the disks into the bag she is carrying.

"What are they?" Helo asks as she zips the bag.

"Music… My Dad made them for me."

"What did he play?"

"Piano mostly, some violin." Her voice was low and vaguely sad.

"You miss him." It was a statement, not a question. Helo sat opposite here, leaning forward with his arms resting on his knees.

"Yes, I do." She shrugs before sitting down on one of the cream chairs. There's nothing on her face to show her emotions and for once, he wishes that she would open up. He sees his own exhaustion mirrored on her face. Her cheeks aren't as hollowed as his, but the potential is there. The cuts and bruises from her fight stand out against her pale skin. Her eyes flick up to catch his and he blushes in acknowledgment that he's been caught looking at her. She smiles slightly at him, but doesn't question why he was looking. She knows.

A few minutes trickle by with both of them resting in silence. Helo breaks it first, saying "Glad to be home?"

She glances tiredly around the apartment. "This isn't home."

"So where is?" He's probing now and the look she gives him is dangerous.

"Anywhere… everywhere." The line is said darkly and he knows her well enough to back off. He's at a loss at how to reply and she seizes the opportunity to swing her legs over the arm of the chair and close her eyes. It feels nice to relax for a change. There had been too much stress and worry affecting her lately. She could feel it leaving her as she let herself drift off to sleep.

She woke first a few hours later, laying silently as she watched Helo sleep on her couch. Sighing, knowing it really was time to get moving again, she swung her legs down to the floor as quietly as she could. A long stretch later, she felt better than she had in a while. Quietly, she got to her feet and made her way to the bathroom to use the facilities. She caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror and gasped in amazement. The bruises that didn't feel so bad looked worse than she had thought. She ran a little water, wrinkling her nose as the first drops ran brown. After a few minutes, it was clear and she used her washcloth to dab at the dried blood on her face. It slowly came off. Satisfied, she dropped the cloth back into the sink and dried her face on the towel hanging on the back of the door.

It was almost like old times. If she didn't think, she could pretend that she was on leave, kicking back for a week or two of fun and relaxation. She closes her eyes as despair washes over her. This was her last time in her apartment. It was her last time on the planet. She breathes in, a good deep breath and straightens her shoulders before leaving the bathroom. Walking down the hallway, she digs around in her pocket and finally come up with what she's looking for.

Helo is still asleep when she gets back into the main room and she hates to wake him when he obviously needs the sleep. A hand on his shoulder is all it takes. She holds a set of keys in front of his nose.

"We're leaving."

"Wha?" He rubs his eyes and gives his head a quick shake, chasing the last traces of sleep from his mind. "What?"

"Coming?" She says and turns to the door without waiting for an answer. He scrambles to catch up with her, almost knocking her down the stairs in his haste.

"Where are we going?" Still slightly groggy from sleep, he can't make sense of her plan.

"I'm going to find us a ride of this rock." She heads into the garage under the building and drives out seconds later in her car. Pulling up next to a stunned Helo, she says "Coming?"

With a last sad look at the building, she shifts into gear and drives away.


End file.
